


Like Glass

by Rameine



Category: Gaksital | Bridal Mask
Genre: Also Mok Dan gets mentioned once, Drabble, F/M, I don't know why I wrote this, One-Sided Relationship, So does Katsuyama, Why are my fave ships never endgame?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 15:43:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17368727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rameine/pseuds/Rameine
Summary: If there was one thing Rara had learned, it was that feelings were like glass: beautiful and fragile.  (Drabble set during episode 19.)





	Like Glass

If there was one thing Rara had learned, it was that feelings were like glass: beautiful and fragile. When light shone on them, they could create bursts of color. When it was dark, they grew cold. They could shatter at any moment, and the pieces might be put back together, but they could never be restored to their former brilliance.

In short, feelings were a weakness, a liability.

So she surprised even herself when Lee Kang To charmed her with a few pretty words and some flowers. She had entertained plenty of men of all types—young, old, plain, handsome, single, married—but none of them had been quite like this.

She was even more surprised—and disgusted with herself—at the surge of disappointment when she finally realized why he had really come. He didn’t care about  _her_. He didn’t actually want to know anything about her life. He had come in search of an ally to get him into Kishokai. And she, fool that she was, had played right into his hands. He knew her better than she wanted to admit…maybe better than anyone else now. What did that say about her, that this near-stranger could read her more thoroughly than the people she saw every day? Katsuyama was unfailingly loyal, and she knew she could depend on him for anything. But even if he had been of a mind to betray her, she doubted he could have come up with such an idea.

No, it would have to be Lee Kang To who figured out how to make her vulnerable.

What would Oh Mok Dan think if she could see them now—the Jap dog who claimed to love her, bringing flowers to the woman who’d tried to kill her? The Koreans here didn’t give him nearly enough credit. They thought of him only as a traitor who turned his back on his people to kiss the feet of the Japanese Empire. And maybe someone could make the argument that joining Kishokai was only the next step, but she didn’t think so. His loyalty wasn’t to Japan or Konno or the police force. He was loyal to himself. He was a survivor, like her.

It was actually comforting, in a way, reverting to political games. This was a game she knew, not like the unsettling warmth she’d been feeling a few minutes ago that had nothing to do with the wine.

So she smiled the same coy smile she’d given thousands of times before and said, “Whether you mean that or not, I like your ambition.” That, at least, was true. She had shut her heart away again, but that didn’t prevent her from admiring his tenacity. And, she reasoned, if he did rise in power, she would be the one to have gotten him there. This was for her benefit as well.

His lips barely grazed her cheek, but she could feel the heat of them, could trace the outline of his mouth even when he drew away.

“So should I just count on you, then?” he said, his voice soft and intimate by her ear, his breath fluttering against her skin. But there was a hard glint in his eyes that kept her grounded, reminding her of the stakes.

For a fraction of an instant, she wondered what the Kang To from five years ago would have done if he had been denied a place in an elite organization closed to Koreans. Would he still have been so manipulative and calculating if they hadn’t forced his hand? Or had he always had this side to him?

_Is that story as painful as Lee Kang To becoming Sato Hiroshi?_

He took her silence for an answer, flashing a charming smile and slipping away as quickly as he’d come, leaving her cold where he’d withdrawn his arm. She reached for her wine again, but her hands were shaking and it tipped over, shattering on the floor.

_I thought you would be able to understand me._

She stared at the broken glass, the wine spilling out like blood.

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this in about ten minutes. Had no intention of posting. Spent another hour or so editing. Thought about posting. Reconsidered. Edited some more. Decided screw it, if I wait till I’m satisfied I’ll never post this thing. I hope you've enjoyed anyway. Please leave a comment if so, it makes my day!
> 
> Yes, I know some of the things aren’t true of Kang To’s character, but Rara doesn’t (at this point, anyway).
> 
> I always thought Rara or Rie or Hong Joo or whichever name she's going by was a much more interesting character and sort-of? love interest than Mok Dan. I don’t really have anything against Mok Dan; her character is just a little bland for me. And Kang To was right in this scene—they’re in a unique position to understand each other. Anyway, I’m lousy at picking endgame pairings and all I have for so many of my faves is fanfiction.
> 
> I apologize for any mistakes. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this show. I skimmed a few episodes till I could find this scene. The direct quotes are taken from the DramaFever subs (RIP).
> 
> If I get inspired, I may write a companion piece from Kang To's point of view, but I'm not getting ahead of myself. I don't even know why I wrote this to begin with; I just started typing one evening and this came out.


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